Apple and Microsoft are playing dirty, according to a new blog post by Google’s Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer David Drummond. Instead of attempting to build innovative products and features, Drummond says Apple and Microsoft are content with filing repeated patent complaints in an attempt to impede Android’s rapid growth. Apple, Microsoft and others are carrying out “a hostile, organized campaign against Android by Microsoft, Oracle, Apple and other companies, waged through bogus patents,” Drummond wrote in his post. “They’re doing this by banding together to acquire Novell’s old patents (the “CPTN” group including Microsoft and Apple) and Nortel’s old patents (the ‘Rockstar’ group including Microsoft and Apple), to make sure Google didn’t get them; seeking $15 licensing fees for every Android device; attempting to make it more expensive for phone manufacturers to license Android (which we provide free of charge) than Windows Mobile; and even suingBarnes & Noble, HTC, Motorola, and Samsung. Patents were meant to encourage innovation, but lately they are being used as a weapon to stop it.” Drummond goes on to write that Google intends to support its partners who are being targeted by these patent complaints. “In this instance we thought it was important to speak out and make it clear that we’re determined to preserve Android as a competitive choice for consumers, by stopping those who are trying to strangle it,” Drummond stated. More →

In response to a report published by BGR earlier today, Research In Motion confirmed that it has no plans to discontinue its Wi-Fi BlackBerry PlayBook tablet in favor of newer models expected to launch this fall. RBC Capital Markets Managing Director Mike Abramsky cited an OTR Global report in a note to investors on Monday that said RIM may be canceling the QNX-based tablet based partially on weak sales. Abramsky speculated that such a move might also allow RIM to focus on the 4G PlayBook and its upcoming next-generation QNX smartphones. “Pure fiction. No plan to discontinue,” RIM said to BGR from its official BlackBerry Twitter account. “In fact, WiFi PlayBook is launching in new countries practically every week.” RIM stated on its earnings call in mid-June that 500,000 BlackBerry PlayBook tablets had been shipped in the fiscal first quarter. More →

BGR on Friday reported on a massive 1,000-test 4G speed study conducted by BTIG Research analyst Walter Piecyk and his team. Piecyk’s controversial study found that Verizon Wireless’ new 4G LTE network handily beat Sprint’s 4G WiMAX network in the head-to-head speed tests. The tests used the mobile hotspot functions on Verizon’s HTC ThunderBolt and Sprint’s HTC EVO 4G, and found that Verizon’s 4G network averaged 9Mbps down and 5Mbps up while Sprint’s 4G speeds hovered around 1Mbps in each direction. With regard to Sprint and its WiMAX network, these findings are not in line with BGR’s experience. As such, we reached out to Sprint for comment. More →